1 year ago
51 That bus crash on Skins SCARRED me.
If you know me, you know I love a good plot twist. And nobody does plot twists better than teen dramas.
Freeform
Sure, some of them are a little over-the-top and soapy. (Cough cough, the dog eating Dan's heart on One Tree Hill, cough cough.) But that's why they're so great!
The CW
Here are 37 more teen drama plot twists and shockers that had me jumping up from the couch.
🚨🚨SPOILERS AHEAD!🚨🚨
1. When Klaus made Stefan turn his humanity off on The Vampire Diaries:
The CW
It was fun to see Stefan running around with the villain, but the stakes got SO much higher in the best way when Klaus made him turn his humanity off, and we finally got to see Stefan, our hero, be really bad. Season 3 is the best season of The Vampire Diaries and it's not even a contest.
2. When Adrianna found out she was pregnant on 90210:
The CW
I love a good pregnancy reveal, and Ade was a great character to choose. It was a nice switch-up too, because it seemed like the show was leading up to the reveal that Adrianna was HIV positive.
3. When Naomi and Annie discovered they shared a sibling, and then he showed up (though it later turned out to be an imposter) at Annie's birthday:
The CW
I don't know why every single teen drama seems to have a secret love child between two of the main characters' parents, but honestly, it's shocking every time, and this one's no exception.
4. When Annie was shot protecting Liam on 90210:
The CW
I'll be real, I'm not an Annie/Liam fan. But this scene kind of got me. It's certainly dramatic, at the very least.
5. When it was revealed Dan and Serena shared a sibling on Gossip Girl:
The CW
Rufus and Lily finally look like they're going to make it work and run away together...then Rufus reveals the secret Bart discovered about Lily just before his death: that Lily secretly gave birth to Rufus' child decades prior. While it's a bit awk that Dan and Serena now share a sibling, this is still my fave "secret kid" teen drama plotline.
6. When Grace's dad died in a plane crash on The Secret Life of the American Teenager and Grace's brother (and Grace herself) blamed it on Grace having sex:
Freeform
This one is obviously shocking because it was a sudden death, but what really made it wild was that everyone acted like it was some cosmic retribution for Grace having sex. And why the hell did Jack go ahead and TELL Grace's mom they just had sex when she came home crying?? So bizarre.
7. And when it was revealed Marshall had a secret son:
Freeform
Oh hello, baby Jordan Fisher. What is it with teen dramas and secret half-siblings?
8. When Buffy stabbed Faith on Buffy the Vampire Slayer:
The WB
I really didn't think Buffy would actually go through with this! Faith had turned bad, but Buffy was supposed to be the good one — deciding to kill Faith to save her vampire boyfriend felt so shocking it was almost out-of-character (I truly think it was saved by SMG's acting and shock in this scene over what she's done).
I can't find the scene on YouTube but you can watch it at the end of Season 3, Episode 21 on Amazon.
9. When Buffy revealed she'd been in heaven, not hell on Buffy the Vampire Slayer:
UPN
This is such a devastating reveal. Buffy dies at the end of Season 5, and we think her friends have rescued her from a hell dimension at the start of Season 6. But Buffy's acting weird, and finally we discover the truth — her friends ripped her out of heaven. I truly was not expecting it and it broke my heart.
10. When Sarah was shot on Outer Banks:
Netflix
Honestly, this could be three different entries on this list — Sarah getting shot, Sarah dying, and Sarah coming back to life. But for the purposes of brevity, I'm keeping it to one. This whole plotline was SO stressful.
11. When it was revealed that Stiles is the nogitsune on Teen Wolf:
MTV
Not including this, but also in the next episode, when we find out that the nogitsune has been Stiles the whole episode. It was so much fun to see Stiles as the villain, and this reveal is perfection.
12. When Tony was hit by a bus in Skins:
E4
Skins is full of heartbreaking deaths, but this was one of the most sudden accidents, and the change in tone from Tony telling Michelle he loves her to lying on the ground bleeding out is peak teen drama.
13. When Ezra was seemingly revealed to be on the A team on Pretty Little Liars:
Freeform
I wish they'd stuck with this, because it would've been great if it was true. I remember FREAKING out when Ezra turned around when I first saw this.
14. When Maya died on Pretty Little Liars:
Freeform
Maya deserved better!! This was so horrible and sudden. We hadn't even seen Maya in forever! And then her body is discovered in more or less the same place as Alison's? Poor Emily.
15. When Midge died during Carrie on Riverdale:
The CW
Midge wasn't exactly a main character, but the manner in which she was killed (during a school play she was starring in by being stabbed against the wall) made this moment one of Riverdale's most shocking, IMO.
16. When Archie was attacked by a bear on Riverdale:
The CW
Lol, this one is so random that it makes me laugh, but it was certainly shocking. I don't think any other teen drama has done this before or since.
17. When Blair stripped at Chuck's club then Chuck and Blair slept together on Gossip Girl:
The CW
This is what really sold Gossip Girl for me. It showed a new side of Blair and started one of the main relationships of the show, but it was totally unexpected at the time — in the best way, of course.
18. When Elena gave Katherine the cure:
The CW
Katherine's entire personality was built around being a seductive, dangerous vampire. Her getting the cure (after a whole season of it seeming like Elena would take it) was such a great twist, especially as one of the only characters who REALLY didn't want it.
19. When Liz shot and killed Jeremy on The Vampire Diaries:
The CW
*Alexa, play Mmm 'Watcha Say'.* No but seriously, this was a great moment. Liz finds out the truth about Damon — her friend — and shoots at him, accidentally killing Jeremy almost immediately. Luckily, Bonnie's able to bring him back, but it comes at a cost.
20. When it was revealed that the guy Jules had slept with was Nate's dad on Euphoria:
HBO
Euphoria nailed the end-of-pilot twist. We see Jules meet a creepy older man for sex earlier in the episode, then we learn this is Nate's dad, and that he's pretending he has a nice wholesome American family. It's an exciting taste of the drama to come, especially considering Jules and Nate already have issues one episode in.
21. When Adam kissed Eric on Sex Education:
Netflix
Sure, it wasn't three characters' lives hanging in the balance, but it was still shocking, okay!!! It was pretty clear Adam hated Eric specifically, so this was pretty damn shocking. While I don't love the "bully turns out to have feelings for gay guys he's picking on" trope, I have to admit I kind of ship this one (though nothing excuses Adam's earlier behavior).
22. When Rafe killed Sheriff Peterkin in Outer Banks:
Netflix
My jaw literally dropped. The final few episodes of Season packed a LOT of punches.
23. When Amy and Liam slept together on Faking It:
MTV
Considering Amy was a lesbian in love with her BFF, and Liam was said BFF's ex, this was pretty shocking. It was also a fun development to bring us into Season 2.
I can't find this scene online, so we're skipping the vid portion.
24. When Justin collapsed at prom on 13 Reasons Why, then died:
Netflix
This is another death that made me mad, but it was certainly shocking. The show was almost over!!! They didn't have to do Justin like this!
25. When Ali was finally revealed to be alive on Pretty Little Liars:
Freeform
They'd been theorizing Ali was alive, but actually seeing her in the flesh was another thing entirely. Def one of my fave reveals!
26. When it was revealed Jenna's mom wrote the letter to her in Awkward:
MTV
For a show that was pretty light most of the time (even if it started out with everyone thinking Jenna had tried to kill herself), it was surprisingly heartbreaking and shocking to figure out that the mean letter to Jenna that had spurred the events of the entire series had been written by Jenna's own mother. It's SUCH a betrayal, and I really wasn't expecting it.
27. On The Society, when Cassandra was shot and killed:
Netflix
Cassandra did NOT deserve this. And I feel like it happened so early on in the show! I wasn't expecting things this dramatic to happen that fast.
28. When Veronica discovered Aaron killed Lilly on Veronica Mars:
UPN
Finally, the answer to a season-long mystery...and it did not disappoint! It looked like all signs were pointing to Logan, and then Veronica found the smoking gun that implicated Aaron. What a twist!!
29. When Rick brought a gun to school on Degrassi: The Next Generation, then shot and paralyzed Jimmy:
CTV
Along with JT's stabbing, this is probably one of the most famous (or infamous) scenes in Degrassi history. The whole episode is shocking, even considering the rest of the show and Rick getting bullied, but I think Jimmy getting paralyzed takes the cake.
30. When Georgina told Dan she was pregnant on Gossip Girl:
The CW
31. When Jackson was revealed to be the kanima on Teen Wolf:
MTV
32. When Dawson's dad got in a car crash and died because he dropped his ice cream on Dawson's Creek:
The WB
This one was honestly cruel. I know stuff like this happens all the time, but for Dawson's dad to die in a car crash because he dropped his ice cream...still not over it.
33. When Katie shot Quinn and Clay on One Tree Hill:
The CW
They also weren't found for like two days and they somehow STILL survived, which TBH is even more shocking than this scene.
34. When Logan was revealed to be Clay's kid on One Tree Hill:
The CW
Leave it to OTH to come up with the soapiest, most unrealistic storyline imaginable. Clay starts sleepwalking, and goes to some sort of mental health clinic, where this little kid is randomly staying at (don't they have a place especially for kids??). Then he finds out this has all been an elaborate ploy to help him remember that the kid is his son??? And that he blocked him from his memory?? I just feel like they would have to have been hints before this. Still, it's shocking, alright.
35. When Blaine admitted to cheating on Kurt on Glee:
Fox
Maybe not as shocking as a secret son, but did you really think I'd leave Glee off this list? This was pretty darn shocking (and heart-breaking) for my 17-year-old heart. Especially after Blaine flipped out so much over thinking Kurt was cheating on him the season prior!!
36. When Rory lost her virginity to Dean — who was in a relationship — on Gilmore Girls.
The WB
I was honestly so disappointed in both Rory and Dean for this. I did kind of feel Rory and Dean were meant to be, but the timing of this was still a shocker. I'm with Lorelai here.
37. And finally, when Bart was revealed to be alive on Gossip Girl:
The CW
This might be the soapiest one on this list. Bart had been dead for THREE SEASONS — they even showed his body in the hospital, and his death was a major source of character development for Chuck — and then he just shows up again, perfectly fine. When I tell you my jaw dropped...
